Review the Last Movie You Viewed Part VI: Satisfying the A-R crowd

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And I'll always hate Bill Maher. What an assclown.

And there's nothing inherently wrong with religion. I think it's a good thing. It's just people who are the problem. Human being are fucking idiots when it comes to religion just like when it comes to politics or economics, or sexuality or whatever.

But yeah, this isn't FYM, so I won't discuss it further. :)
 
I haven't got round to seeing The Verdict yet, which is odd as I love a good courtroom film. But I would recommend Hud as a great Newman film.
 
mad1 said:
speaking of Bond Movies, sorry, which one has the opening of this brunette beauty rescuing James from the guard truck? she shows the guards her legs and stuff.

?
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I wanna say that it's Octopussy.

I'm also looking for any excuse I can find to say the word Octopussy.
 
Forgetting Sarah Marshall - I don't understand the appeal of this one, very, very unfunny, I think I might have laughed once, maybe twice :down: Probably one of the most disappointing films I have seen in a long time considering how much I liked Knocked Up and Superbad, even my love for Kristen Bell did not make me like this any more...

2/10

Planet B-Boy - A really good documentary about break-dancing that follows several crews going to the international competition in Germany of all places... Amazing to watch, funny, touching and exciting. I rented this one along with Sarah Marshall and was blown away by much more fun I had watching this - I highly recommend it.

8/10

Indiana Jones - I finally got around to watching this and was pleasantly surprised. It's not as good as Raiders or Last Crusade imo but it was a lot better than I was anticipating... Sure there were a couple of implausible moments (Indy dodging bullets and surviving a nuclear explosion) and a couple of cheesy ones (Shia LaBeouf’s Tarzan impersonation and the wedding at the end :doh: ) but overall I found myself having a good time.

7/10
 
Has anyone watched A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies?

Aired on Turner Classic Movies years ago, and a just found an old VHS set for $3. I've seen many of the films referenced on there since first watching this, but I just wanted to say that it's a great little overview of Marty's influences and the development of various techniques and styles over the 20th century. Lots of film clips from major and minor directors, as well as interviews.

Highly recommended, and gives newer film fans/students some good starting off points for digging deeper.
 
The Secret Life of Bees - I'm not sure if this qualifies as the Mother of All Chick Flicks or not but it's up there. It was a friend's birthday, and this was what she wanted to see. I have never seen so many women at a matinee in my life. And they all cried. They all fucking cried. Except for me which means there must be something horribly wrong with me. There are lots of good things to say about this - everyone's great and all. But it just felt so emotionally manipulative which is I guess why I refused to cry--couldn't cry in fact. And while I did enjoy it, I couldn't understand why my two friends sat and blew their noses until the last credit rolled. I had to dig out Starbucks napkins from the bottom of my purse for them.
 
joyfulgirl said:
And they all cried. They all fucking cried. Except for me
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This is why we're friends.


Max Payne -
I have to admit to being a big fan of this game series. I worried when it was announced that it would end up being a mess like all video game movies, worried when the trailer featured some sort of winged demons flying around (something not in the games), and I worried even more when it was given a PG13 rating. Unfortunately, I most definitely had reason to worry. While they surprisingly did attempt to honor and stick close to some aspects of the series (characters, locations, levels, scenes in the game, etc), they chose to not stick close what made the game "cool": tons of shooting, grittiness, and the classic film noir style narration from Max himself. There still were a number of moments I enjoyed, though I think I did only like those moments because they recalled the games. While it actually was decent for a "video game movie" and I still enjoyed it, I would have liked for it to have been done completely differently and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It's unfortunate that Hollywood still hasn't actually released a film based on a video game that actually tells the story better than the actual game did itself.

Eagle Eye -
The action in this movie is fun and entertaining. The story on the other hand is ridiculous and unbelievable. Decent enough popcorn flick.
 
I'm guessing GAF's response to that would be something like, "Boobs and modest do not belong in the same sentence".

How'd I do, Gaffer?
 
u2popmofo said:
This is why we're friends.
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You mean there's something horribly wrong with you, too? :wink:

Appaloosa - Meh. Had to see it cos it was filmed here and all, and some friends worked on it, and also...well, Viggo. It was okay as far as Westerns go, maybe even better than okay but I was a little bored at times. I think it's one of those movies I'll like better later in hindsight. I did enjoy the male-bonding between the Viggo & Ed Harris characters (see, I didn't even retain their names) and Renee always bugs me but she gets points for supposedly being very nice around town when they were filming. And Irons was great as always. I guess it was worth it just for the ending - Viggo was dreamy.

Oh, and I hated the music. What was that dreadful thing that was playing when the credits rolled?
 
lazarus said:
Has anyone watched A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies?

Aired on Turner Classic Movies years ago, and a just found an old VHS set for $3. I've seen many of the films referenced on there since first watching this, but I just wanted to say that it's a great little overview of Marty's influences and the development of various techniques and styles over the 20th century. Lots of film clips from major and minor directors, as well as interviews.

Highly recommended, and gives newer film fans/students some good starting off points for digging deeper.
Click to expand...

I watched it, recently, in fact......I found it to be very interesting.
 
I'll have to check that Marty show out sometime, sounds a lot better than the usual clips / talking heads fest.

And as I've been slack in this thread recently:
Get Smart
Well it was this or Mamma Mia and I couldn't stand the thought of a sing-a-long screening. It wasn't that bad and actually quite funny in places, the problem is that it's just so average. I've never seen the TV series that it's based on but surely there must have been more they could do with the premise. Anyone remember Teen Agent? Now there's a cinematic gem about doofus spying. This was just lazy with every plot point and heck most punchlines telegraphed in advance. Maybe I'm expecting too much of it but I can't help but wish they'd spent some of that stunts budget on a script polish, or at least take out some cheap gay sex gags. Nevermind, like I say, it was enjoyable and most of the cast seemed to be having fun, especially the two pairs of agents and techies back at HQ. Special mention must go to Anne Hathaway for looking as gorgeous as ever (if a little brittle), particularly in a nice slinky black dress. Mmm mm.

Mamma Mia
Well I couldn't get out of it again so here we go. I did however the cinema website beforehand to make sure we chose a screening that wasn't sing-a-long, so imagine my horror when 'I have a dream' popped up at the bottom of the screen in big gold letters. I was so not impressed. Luckily only a small group of women were singing and they kept it quiet enough to ignore, either out of embarassment, courtesy or after telepathically hearing my vow to harpoon the first brassy girl who dared to warble as loud as they could. Bah, I'm miserable sod when I'm sober anyway. So for the first half hour I was seriously cringing but still trying to enjoy it, when the title song came on and Meryl Streep has a quick flashback to each of the three potential fathers as to how they were back in the day. At that point the whole thing clicked for me and by the time Pierce, Colin and Stellan shuffled onstage in spangly catsuits I was enjoying myself. I can see why it's been such hit with the ladies because it's relentlessly upbeat, filled with gorgeous locales and people (with the notable exception of the three old trouts) and so spectacularly and self knowingly cheesy it's hard not to get swept away by it. Especially when it is filled with some cracking tunes and never descends into trash or tackiness. Having not seen the play I liked the resolution to the father issue and while I'm not a fan of musicals anyway I did keep cringing from time to time, it's hard to fault it. I honestly you'd have to make an effort not to like it in order to do so, but I doubt I'll be in a hurry to ever watch it again.

Pineapple Express
I'll preface this by saying it's the funniest film I've seen all year, possibly funnier than anything I saw last year too. I think it was Lance who mentioned this is everything Hot Fuzz tried to be and as much as I love the Spaced boys, I have to agree. I went in reasonably cold by knowing only a simple, one sentence summary of the film, so at first I didn't realise that it was being played as a spoof of the buddy picture; the sheer stupidness at first completely disarmed me. But given how dumb the characters act the structure of the whole film is pretty smart with buddy picture staples and cliches placed at just the right points. And when they come it feels like they're trying to do it seriously but all of the absurdities and unlikeliness that most action scenes gloss over keep cropping up and throwing them off. For instance, it's not that easy to kick open a windshield or beat someone up if you're not the physical type. But then when they flip this idea round at the end so that the good guys never die and there's a always a loaded gun at hand just when you need one I was howling. The script also wins by having so much quotable dialogue. It's nearly up there with The Big Lebowski in that regard. And now I think about it, these two films are actually quite similar in that they put a new, subtle spin on an old genre and fill the time with memorable characters and dialogue. I wouldn't rate this as highly as Lebowski, but I'm sure I'll be watching it again a few times unlike other Apatow films that lose a lot of their shine upon the second viewing.

Tropic Thunder
Oh how I wish I'd seen this before Pineapple Express, because while it's certainly funny with a rich premise, it's doesn't quite reach it's potential like that one did. It will forever be marked as 'not as good as Pineapple Express' rather than by it's own merits. What a shame. But it was still entertaining. Going straight for the gold, Robert Downey Jr.'s turn as Dirk Lazarus completely makes the film. He steals "every scene he's in and it's to Stiller's credit that he gave up the role and instead went for the kind of character he could probably do in a coma by now. But Downey makes the role into so much more than a cheap racial stereotype by giving it sincerity. His exchanges with Brandon T. Jackson, who is openly disgusted and offended by what Lazarus is doing, balances it out and reaffirms that, ignorant and self involved he may be, Lazarus (snarky quote not intended) doesn't even see the race of his character as an issue, so why should we? Men have been performing in drag for centuries after all. But besides Downey and Tom Cruise (who's character may have only been as funny as it was because he was Tom Cruise upon reflection), there's not much else other than sporadic chuckles and a sense of a golden opportunity not quite fulfilled. It was fun to count the war movie refs though.

The Women
A romantic comedy written by a woman, directed by a woman and and featuring not one person with a penis (or if you want to be anal, no one with a penis who can walk) does not give me high expectations. At the risk of sounding sexist, there must be a good reason why there aren't many women behind the camera and I suggest it's talent. You can throw Clueless, Wayne's World and Little Miss Coppola at me all you want, but I bet you can't throw much more. So like I say, my hopes were not high by the end of the titles, but I gave it a go. What I got back was something about how female empowerment means screwing over other women, how girls can be forgiven for mistakes but guys can't, awful dialogue and six identical daughter characters, because they all had different personalities. Don't get me wrong, I did like how it managed to avoid having a single man onscreen the entire time, as most chick flicks are sold as much on the girls as the hot guys. But that was about it.
 
lazarus said:
Has anyone watched A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies?

Aired on Turner Classic Movies years ago, and a just found an old VHS set for $3. I've seen many of the films referenced on there since first watching this, but I just wanted to say that it's a great little overview of Marty's influences and the development of various techniques and styles over the 20th century. Lots of film clips from major and minor directors, as well as interviews.

Highly recommended, and gives newer film fans/students some good starting off points for digging deeper.
Click to expand...

I want to say we watched some of this in one of my film classes, but I can't say for sure. Scorsese appears in a LOT of documentaries.
 
You've got some serious high-fives coming your way for that Pineapple Express review Monkeyskin. The most criminally misunderstood and underrated film so far this year (if we're ignoring My Blueberry Nights).
 
*keyboard five*

I've seen some reviews that completely focussed on the use of drugs in the film, ranted about how it was damaging to our youth and slapped it with a low score. Narrow minded tits.

And Im looking forward to seeing My Blueberry Nights again sometime, along with everything pre-ITMFL as I've only seen those once. Bit peeved that Ashes of Time Redux doesn't seem to be showing anywhere near me but ah well.
 
monkeyskin said:
At the risk of sounding sexist, there must be a good reason why there aren't many women behind the camera and I suggest it's talent. You can throw Clueless, Wayne's World and Little Miss Coppola at me all you want, but I bet you can't throw much more.
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It does sound sexist. While it's true there aren't very many female directors, it's more because studios don't want to hire them than because there aren't any with enough talent.

For the record, Heckerling, Spheeris and Coppola (the respective directors of the films you mentioned) aren't even the best of what the gender has to offer. I personally prefer Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days, Point Break, and the upcoming The Hurt Locker, supposedly amazing), Julie Taymor (Titus, Frida, Across the Universe), Tamara Jenkins (The Savages, Slums of Beverly Hills), Sally Potter (Yes, Orlando, The Tango Lesson), Gillian Anderson (Little Women, Oscar & Lucinda), documentarian Barbara Kopple, and most importantly, the great Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table, The Portrait of a Lady, Holy Smoke!, In the Cut, Sweetie) from New Zealand.

As for younger directors, you have Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Aeon Flux), Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don't Cry, Stop/Loss), Kasi Lemmons (Talk To Me, Eve's Bayou), Sarah Polley (Away From Her), Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity, The Ballad of Jack & Rose), Miranda July (You & Me & Everyone We Know), and Patty Jenkins, who directed Charlize Theron to an Oscar and apparently can't get more work.

And we're not even talking about the international scene, where there are other notable names like Agnieszka Holland, Chantal Akerman, Mira Nair, Catherine Breillat, Susanne Bier, Agnes Varda, Deepa Mehta, Lynne Ramsay, etc.

It's very difficult for women to get ahead in this medium (like many others), but I think all of the ones listed above have more than a little talent.
 
MS, you've got me even more excited to finally see Pineapple. It's playing at the local dollar theater now. I would've seen it when it first came out, but my friends thought a future $2 Tropic/Express double feature would be cool, without knowing if both movies would play at that theater anyway.
 
lol monkeypwned.

Laz, you have me there, especially with Jane Campion, but that's still a tiny list compared to notable male directors. Even if that's a lot more than I could have thought of.

I appreciate that filmmaking is a male centred medium, with actresses finding it harder to get work than men as a prime example (older women don't cut it nearly as much as older men, or less photogenic women sadly).

But there's still a huge difference in the number of male and female directors and there has to be a reason for that other than the suits not hiring them. Sure sexism plays a part, but maybe there just aren't as many women interested in directing. And if there aren't many interested in it then they probably haven't nurtured their talent.

And even if their films are good, it's very rare for a female director to be discussed, or for a new film to be their's in the way that one may be a Marty film, or a Spielberg, Hitchcock, Mann, Scott, whatever. Sophia Copolla is one of the few common names in this regard.

Basically after that ramble I'm attempting to noblely say "well played sir, but I stand by my sexist views".
 
"I just think this is the way the world is, that men control the money, and they decide who they're going to give it to," Campion said in explaining why so few women get movies made.
 
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